Jeremy Vink - Councillor : Ward 3

120 Angelica Street,
Fergus, ON

Biography

My name is Jeremy Vink and I am seeking to represent Ward 3 in Centre Wellington. I first moved to Centre Wellington in 1991 at which time I attended high school here. Although having lived in other communities since then, I have been rooted in Centre Wellington. My wife has spent most of her life here also, and she also works in Elora. My wife and I have two lovely daughters of our own, and we have recently been approved by Children and Family Services to adopt. We attend church here in Centre Wellington and are also active in our church community. Together, we as a family enjoy walking through town and on the trails, as well as frequent many of the local parks, libraries and local events. Community as a whole is important to us as a family.

Although I am new to the political scene, local government is not new to me. I have a degree in Urban Planning and have worked for three different municipalities in Ontario in my ongoing career as a planner. I feel that this gives me the background and knowledge to be an effective part of Council.

Election Platform

Community has and is important to me, so I feel that being involved in Council is one way for me to be part of the community. It also allows me to give back to the community I live in as well as an important way to be active in the community. As such it is my goal to continue to push and look towards ways to build a stronger community with qualities that will carry us through for years to come. A “quality community” as I like to call it.

So what is involved in a “quality community”? Although a lofty goal, it is something to always work towards. It is trying to create a community that can address the needs of people through all ages, from youth to seniors. This includes different types of housing, affordability living, street design and mix of housing in neighbourhoods. As part of that we need to create a walkable community so that people in town can easily walk to stores, restaurants, parks etc. This helps in terms of affordability, but also increases safety when more people are out and about, and increases interaction with each other – making it more of a community.

Community is also arts, culture, commercial and industrial. We have a strong and vibrant arts and cultural aspect in the community that ties in well with the tourism. We also have some excellent commercial and industrial uses. However, we need to keep finding ways to keep commercial areas vibrant, and we also need to seek out ways to grow our industry. I think we need to focus on the commercial and industrial uses as part of making the community not just a great place to live but also to work.

To tie living and working together also need to start planning for transit.

This is just a start of how a “Quality Community” touches on every aspect of community. When we have anticipated populations of about 11,000 people in Elora and 22,700 in Fergus by 2031 so we need to ensure we make the best of what we have. So not only must we strive to accomplish what is laid out in the strategic plan we need to have:
good planning;
long term goals;
find ways to maximize our dollars so to keep taxes low;
to spend wisely; and
be innovative.